High School Senior Comes Out to Classmates at Assembly

Two weeks ago today, on the precipice of a three-day weekend, Maria Carillo High School in Santa Rosa, California held its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly.

As the students, faculty, staff and administrators present prepped themselves for what I’m sure they thought would be a pedestrian remembrance ceremony, High School senior Kayla Kearney was waiting in the wings. What she did, and the words she spoke, rank amongst the the bravest and most inspiring things I’ve seen.

Surely, it’s better than anything I ever did in High School in front of a room full of people.

63 Responses

I think hero and brave are words that should be reserved for kids who enlisted in the military or joined the peace corps, etc etc etc.

She didn’t even seem nervous, more like extremely well rehearsed.

I don’t give a damn how she lives her life or sexual orientation but I don’t think, IMO, a HS assembly is the place to announce it.

I would bet most kids in her school already knew she was gay and I’d bet it was on facebook too. Much like the TV show pretty little liars with the lesbian high school student kind of romanticizing being gay.

The answer is no!! because no one really cares! thats my point!
Your point is invalid because people do care, the wrong people. And they show it in really painful ways that force homosexuals (or other minorities) to go home and kill themselves/live secret lives and end up a statistic. Instead, this young woman took to the stage and basically said that she got the message that ‘It gets better’ and hopes that it will indeed do so.
You don’t get it and that’s sad. I hope you never have to understand it personally.

Wow this is truly amazing,…….So truly wonderful………..so brave……….so strong…………oh wait……i mean so Ridiculous. I thought it said at the beginning this was going to be one the most brave and inspiring things ive seen. It looked like a girl talking about being gay. In 2011, really? a gay person in 2011? That is inspiring. I think maybe Martin Luther King is a tad more inspiring than this girl escpecially on Martin Luther King Day. I think that the black people at the Assembly are probably wondering what the hell this girl is doing up there. I am pretty sure they are not thinking…”wow this girl really gets it”, “she’s has gone through the same struggles as us” (like slavery and all the other stuff that black people have in common with gays.) Every time an article regarding gays arises, a black person always gets on the comments and says “stop comparing us and our struggles to that of gay people”, “They are not even remotely the same”. (When researched most scientists appear to think that being gay is a lifestyle choice). Apparently she didn’t get the memo. This therefore has nothing to do with MLK day. Who is this girl appealing to anyway in this speech? Was it for the school to change their policies so their is no longer seperate classrooms and lunchrooms for gays? I’ve never been there but I’m guessing that gays are treated equally. Was it for the government so gay marriage could be passed or gays in the military? One is done and the other is on the way. This speech benefits no one but her, how is that not selfish? The people in her high school? They either already knew and didn’t care, or just found out and don’t care. Whatever people were going to make fun of her, are still going to make fun of her. Whoever wasn’t (the vast majority because no one cares) are still not going to. It is 2011 it is not unique to be gay, and is overwhelmingly accepted. So lets please not use words like “bravey” and “heroic” to describe self indulgence, when we have soldiers overseas and law enforcement dying every day to protect this countries citizens…gay, straight, of all colors, shapes and sizes, religions and otherwise……………

“I’ll stand by my opinion of what a hero is to me and you to yours.”
Fine with me. I wasn’t the one trying to tell everyone else to reserve the words “brave” and “hero” only for people who I think are brave and heroic.

Have a nice day, and try not to let things you don’t care about bother you so much.

Those who can’t see how this speech benefited others might never do so, and some don’t seem to even want to. I know there are a lot more people out there who understood the point of her message.
Good for her, and good for the school for letting her stand up there and do that.

making out with your gay friend just doesn’t fit the list, and sorry if it offends you or anyone else, but like the billboards, I’m growing increasingly weary of being lectured about gay rights, activism or whatever. Tere are far more real issues to deal with.

Jake – that was in reply to “Jacques,” not you. His point was the one that was far more shoe-horned and pedantic.

Although I do still stand by my statement that trying to qualify an opinion or knock down the actions of someone by saying they’re not US military is a bit ridiculous and cheap. It’s like an inverted “Hitler” label.

This is NEWS because WE MAKE IT NEWS. I have never had to come out and claim that I am heterosexual, nor have I been persecuted for being heterosexual. However, If people want equality – then shouldnt we give equality? Me proclaiming my heterosexuality AT AN INAPPROPRIATE PLACE AND TIME woudl also receive your praise?

Your points, Kevin, seem to be simply supporting sensitivity toward homosexuality as a means to garner support. If people want to be treated equally, they should act as equals. Would you not agree that me going up to tell the audience that I am hetero would be inappropriate? If so, then you are fighting to keep people from being equal – not fighting to make all people seem equal. The time and place for this was WRONG – plain and simple. This event was to honor Dr M L K Jr.

I, too, could simply sit up here saying that “this is great – she came out, and did so proudly – doing a justice for homosexuality”. And while this is not untrue, my points are that the time and place were IN NO WAY proper for this, and also that homosexuals will never be treated as equals if they continue to treat themselves differently. A heterosexual would have been chastised for these actions? Why are all of the people here that support this girl saying that it is OKAY to act differently than everyone else, but then claim that they want equality?

Did you listen to the part where she requested to speak when they were planning the assembly? So, if being approved & allowed to speak at an assembly where the organizers knew exactly what she was going to talk about is an outburst, I’d hate to think what is not.

#32 “She didn’t even seem nervous, more like extremely well rehearsed.”

See above. And those people who have experience on stage, she participated in a production of “Rent” so she’s probably used to being on stage & speaking. Hell, I’m not an actress, but I excel at extemporaneous speech, thus don’t usually appear nervous, but I’m dying on the inside. It’s not always about exterior appearances. Hmmm, point maybe?

To those who think it’s self-indulgent and that it didn’t help anyone but her, I offer this. Are you married? Did you spend money on a ceremony and a party that was ALL ABOUT YOU? Why did you do that? What’s the point? You could have easily gone to the JP with a friend and not make a HUGE production out of it.

As far as a gay person in 2011? That is inspiring. You’re missing the point. Was being black in the 1960s inspiring? Then what’s the big deal with MLK Jr? I mean he was just talking about being black in the 60s.

Oh, and the last time I checked, gays were still ostracized, and aren’t allowed to marry, much like blacks and whites during half of the 20th Century. Blacks are still discriminated against in some places, oh wait, not in New York, right? So obviously gays aren’t discriminated against either.

I think, ultimately, that she wasn’t coming out as much as she was trying to address the common issues involved with coming out. No, it was not a choice for her; whether being gay comes from nature or nuture, or both, is still hotly debated, especially in some religious circles: http://www.angelfire.com/nc/yakkow/choice.html

No, she wasn’t saying she was persecuted for being gay; she had been in the closet, and was expressing fear that she could be targeted, which does happen in 2011. She was well rehearsed; this, ipso facto, means that she wasn’t scared?

To Jakester and #38, I am glad that as gay people you were never persecuted, made fun of, or bullied, and that as gay people you are accepted for who you are. It must be really wonderful.

Wait, what…? You’re not gay? But you claim to know everything about what it’s like to be gay, that they’re all fine and don’t “seem” to be persecuted… particularly that since it’s 2011, persecution of gays totally isn’t a big deal anymore, and gays get along fine in society, they’re not ostracized, made fun of, and denied basic human rights like the right to marriage solely because of their sexual orientation…? Right?

So since you seem to know everything there is to know about what it’s like to be gay in this day and age, I’m going to have to go ahead and assume that you are gay. Otherwise, how would you know?

Oh wait. You’re not. So you don’t know a damn thing about what it’s like to be gay.

And one more to #38 – most scientists do NOT think being gay is a choice. That is a fact. Sorry, you’re wrong.

HM, what the hell are you taking about… who ever said anyone knew exactly what it was like to be gay? Why can ONLY someone GAY have an opinion? So if you ARE gay you have no right to any opinion regarding non-gay issues? You have a large credibility gap and I’m afraid it’s between your ears.

kari, did YOU read the part where Kev said students, staff, faculty and administrators prepped themselves for what they hought would be a pedestrian rememberance ceremony? That doesn’t lead me to believe she had her coming out talk preapproved by anyone.

#2, “WTF,” The Times Union reports news in the areas designated as news. This is the Kevin Marshall blog, it’s where Kevin Marshall writes things he wants to write about, or what he thinks people might be interested in. As I write this there’s 54 comments, obviously people are interested. I hope this clears up some confusion.

#55, i never said anyone who isn’t gay can’t have an opinion, you’re clearly missing the point. I was referring to your statement that the gays you know are “doing fine” and “don’t seem persecuted.” yes, because your perception of the world is fact. oh wait, it isn’t. just because you don’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

I just saw the video and for the people who say “this wasnt the place”. Your wrong. This assembly in honor of MLK is about “breaking the silence: on things that matter”. As far as people saying it appears fake or rehearsed, well she is a theatrical student, so maybe that was her way of getting over the nervousness. Dont forget, one sign of a truly nervous person???? Red face which she clearly had. Oh and she didnt just blindside them, she went to them and stated that she wanted to make a speech but just didnt say what it was about, because the girl in office thought she was signing up to sing. So people who think this was wrong or just a show. Get a life. This girl may not be a hero or brave to some. But she is that to another student who may be afraid of coming out.